- Norwich writers navigated intense ‘feedback’ following East Anglian derby.
- Town fans were brought crashing back to earth after defeat at Fratton Park.
- Contrasting perceptions between Philippe Clement and Kieran McKenna..
Has your pain started to subside?
Not going to lie … so relentless was the ‘feedback’ I was receiving from our Suffolk brethren, it had started to sting.
Not since I was the Norwich City ‘voice’ at The Metro has the torrent been so relentless and vicious.
Back then, on the eve of the second leg of the 2015 Playoff semi-final, I wrote a very mildly disparaging piece on our country cousins and was sought out on Twitter and plastered all over their TWTD forum.
To this day, I still have the bruises.
But, for those of us who have chosen to write about sport and Norwich City for a living, it’s simply a cross that we have to bear.
No one’s complaining, it’s all part of the job, although some of the stuff directed at our Freddie following his record-breaking ‘letter to Marcelino‘ was eye-watering, even from my hue.
But he’s good. Has thick skin, does our Freddie. Sticks and stones and all that.
Fratton and stressing
Yet, amid all of the above, there was admittedly an element of relief when their focus turned away from derby ecstasy, and toward one of their games in hand – that twice-cancelled trip to Fratton Park, Portsmouth.
And I’d certainly be lying if I didn’t confess to feeling a tad joyful at their demise on what was always destined to be a tricky night.
While no one at the southern end of the A140 was about to admit that an energy and emotion-sapping local derby may have had an impact on their performance level in darkest Hampshire, it was almost bound to.
Coupled with Portsmouth playing well and getting a feisty old Fratton Park crowd fully on board, it left Ipswich fans with that same feeling of desolation that all experienced on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
Their reaction was not dissimilar either.
Play up Pompey…
In the same way that I was struck by how quickly some City fans forgot that wonderful performance at the Den in the 2-1 comeback win over Millwall, judging by their reaction to the Pompey defeat on Twitter, many Ipswich fans were quick to dismiss their derby joy.
Some, it seems, are even unsure as to whether Kieran McKenna is indeed the man to take them forward; a direction in which not a single City voice has gone when discussing the pros and pros of Philippe Clement.
So, yeah, a funny old game.
Their Portsmouth game was handy both in its timing and its outcome.
For what it’s worth, I still think Ipswich will squeak in the automatics, but it may be a tad more buttock-clenching than they were anticipating after their derby win.
I’ll be honest, for me, a season without a derby wouldn’t be a problem, and I’m 99.9 per cent sure Freddie would agree.
OTBC
